The Stuff That Does Not Fit

So much has been made of Downton Abbey’s Season 5 promotional photo blunder where a plastic water bottle appears on the mantle behind two of the show’s stars. According to the show’s website, the plastic bottle is showing up about 36 years too early for the period in which the new series is set. Click here if you’d like to see said photo or don’t know what the heck I’m talking about.

Granted, that’s got to be fixed if the show wants to appear accurate and authentic. And you can bet they do.

And that got me thinking…

Isn’t it remarkable just how easy it is for us to spot the things that don’t fit and the things that just don’t make sense in a given context even if we are not experts in that area?! I mean come on, even though most of us snoozed through history class, we KNOW that plastic water bottles weren’t all the rage back in the 1920’s. We can spot wonky, can’t we?

So why then is it so hard for us to spot the stuff that just doesn’t fit in our own lives?

Now listen, I know you are smart. As a whip. But if you are walking around with a story or any part of a story that is not 100% accurate and authentic to YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW, can you spot it as inconsistent, ill-fitting and wonky? Can you see it for the blunder it is and how it will get in the way of you being able to create the life you want?

It can be a little hard. I know.

Heck, I sometimes still hear my old stories that are at least 36 years out of date! In my teens and twenties I heard:

“It’s best not to make waves.”

“You are ‘different,’ so be careful letting people see that part of you.”

“You are average when it comes to intelligence so be careful what you shoot for, I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

“Be careful not to get too big for your britches.”

And here’s the kicker . . . “You are too sensitive, you don’t have what it takes.”

Even after all these years, I still sometimes hear those messages and when I do, if I don’t see them as out of place, ill-fitting, and just downright wrong for the time period called MY LIFE RIGHT NOW, can you imagine the damage that would be done? Suffice to say, you wouldn’t be reading this article right now and my voice would be silent. I am so glad you are here reading and I am so grateful to have a voice that is no longer muted.

Listen to me please…You get to decide what fits and doesn’t fit in your life. You get to be the expert that demands accuracy and authenticity.

I challenge you to look at any old messages or stories you might still be allowing to ring out and hurt you. Shine the light on them. See them as the inaccurate lies they are and step into your own story of who you are right now and who you are becoming.

Do you have your own version of the Downton Abbey water bottle on the mantle? Look for it! Find it! Expose it for the thing that’s out of place and just not consistent with the life you are out to create for yourself.